The U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,204 has suggested using a digital device to shape the contour and outlines of light that is projected through a high-intensity projector. Such a system may be used, for example, for stage lighting in theatrical and concert events. The Icon M(trademark), available from Light and Sound Design, Ltd; Birmingham, England, uses this technique.
Different patents owned by Light and Sound Design, Ltd. suggest that the digital gobo should be formed from either a digital mirror, or from any other pixel level controllable digital device.
Cogent Light of Los Angeles, Calif. has technology that allows packaging a high intensity light beam into a form that allows it to be placed into a light waveguide, e.g., a fiber optic cable.
The present application teaches a system of packaging light into a light waveguide such as a fiber optic cable, and adjusting the shape of the light using a digitally controllable, pixel level controllable light shaping element, such as a digital mirror device (DMD), available from Texas Instruments.
In one embodiment, the system controls and produces high-intensity light output using three separate digital gobo devices. The digital gobo devices can be separately controlled such that each digital gobo device receives information indicative of shaping a separate primary color. The primary colors are handled separately, and/or combined at the object of the high-intensity light output.